Shortly after unveiling updates to its content policy, Twitch has decided to retract the allowance for “artistic nudity.” The platform’s policy reversal, effective immediately, states, “Moving forward, depictions of real or fictional nudity won’t be allowed on Twitch, regardless of the medium.” This change does not impact mature-rated games, which will continue to operate under the new policy guidelines.
The recent sexual content policy update, issued on Wednesday, initially permitted specific sexually themed content, such as deliberately highlighted body parts and erotic dances, as long as the stream carried an appropriate Content Classification Label. However, Twitch faced community concerns over the content generated in response to these changes, leading to the decision to roll back the allowance for “artistic nudity.”
In its statement, Twitch acknowledged shared concerns and mentioned going “too far with this change.” The platform highlighted the unique challenge posed by digital depictions of nudity, citing the potential use of artificial intelligence to create realistic images that could blur the line between digital art and photography.
The specific mention of AI is likely linked to concerns that the initial artistic nudity policy might enable the creation and display of AI-generated “deepfakes” disguised as permitted art. While the initial intention of the policy was to provide artists with the freedom to draw sexual material without fear of punishment, Twitch observed instances where the policy was exploited, including the use of fully nude avatars and stream overlays featuring explicit drawings.
